The day started off with a genki "Ohayou Gozaimasu!" as I entered the shokuin-shitsu (teacher's room). As I walked to my desk, I said hello (alternating between Japanese and English) to several teachers including my English teachers and handed out omiyage from Okinawa shortly after.
I gave them chinsukou which is an Okinawan cookie and made small talk with several of my teachers, telling them about my trip in Okinawa.
Following this, we proceeded to the taiikukan (gymnasium) for the school's opening ceremony - this was my impression.
As I walked into the gymnasium, all the students were already seated silently. The chairs that they sat in were chairs from their homerooms - they carried each of their chairs from homeroom to the gymnasium. Shortly after, the vice-principal arrived and the speeches began.
My impression right off the bat was that there was an extreme level of order in Japanese junior high schools. The teachers seemed like sharks, staggered and surrounding the area where the students sat in order to maintain order and make sure the students did not misbehave during the ceremony. The students would always have their eyes forward, sitting properly during the entirety of the ceremony.
One teacher would announce to the students when to bow, when to stand, and when to sit. The students would bow every time a teacher or student gave a speech, and would be told to stand before they started singing the school's anthem (which happened about 3 times total - once for practice, once for the beginning of the assembly, and once more at the end).
The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes and consisted of the school's anthem, speeches by each of the grade's representatives, a quick award ceremony for two students, a speech by the principal, and a speech by one more teacher followed by the school anthem once more.
The first practice round was led by one of the teachers who had an amazing voice. She told the students when to open their mouth wider or hold a note. Afterwards, the "real" song was conducted by a student, and accompanied by another student who played the piano.
When the ceremony ended the second-year students and third-year students stood up, took their chairs, and walked out of the gymnasium in, once again, an orderly fashion followed by the first-year students. They all proceeded out of the gym via one organized line, 2 columns wide.
It was impressive, but I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when the teachers would hover over the students because while it is important for students to pay attention, it seems that they were on lock down or something - it all seemed very authoritarian. In the end though, it's merely a cultural difference. I need to think to myself whether or not this way is better than the way we have assemblies in teh U.S. because Japanese assemblies are very orderly, which is better than disorder I suppose.
Also, the gym was freezing. After the ceremony some of the teachers ran to the radiator to warm up as soon as they got back into the teacher's room. Winter's in full force.
